Remarks in a discussion with small-business owners in Jacksonville, Florida

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Feb 17, 2003

February 13, 2003

The President. Thank you all. Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm sure glad I came. [Laughter] It's--I want to talk about some of the challenges which face our country. A little later on, I'm going to go speak to those souls who wear the uniform of the United States military and thank them for their service to the country and tell them we've got all the confidence in their capacity to help us keep the peace and promote freedom.

It's clear we have challenges abroad, particularly the challenge to keep the peace, to secure our homeland, to adjust our way of thinking to make sure that we do everything we can to say with complete confidence that we'll protect America. We'll protect this generation of Americans, and we'll secure the homeland and make the world more peaceful, so that future generations of Americans can grow up in peace.

That's a big challenge. And equally as big a challenge is to make sure our economy is strong so that America is a hopeful place, that our economy is strong enough to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well--and today we're going to talk to some entrepreneurs who are living the American Dream--that our economy is strong enough to make sure moms and dads have got the capacity to save and invest for their children, if that's what they choose to do, that our economy is strong enough so that people who are looking for work can find a job.

And that's also a challenge we face. Today you'll hear me talk about the plan that I have asked Congress to approve. I want the folks on the stage up here to share with me and with you and others listening what that plan means for their lives. In Washington, we spend a lot of time talking about numbers. I like to remind people that behind each number is somebody's life and why the plan that I've described to the Congress is such an optimistic, hopeful plan for every American.

Before I begin, I want to thank Brother--that would be your Governor. So he had his 50th birthday on the 11th of February. I called him and said, "Happy birthday. Fifty is not quite as old as it seemed to be, is it?" [Laughter] But we're proud of him, and we love him. Actually, I had coffee with Mother and Dad this morning. And Mother said to make sure I told Jeb she loved him still, so -- [laughter]--she still loves you. [Laughter].

I want to thank Hector Barreto for being here as well. Hector is the head of the Small Business Administration. One of the commitments of this administration is to promote the entrepreneurial spirit throughout all our country. We want anybody from any walk of life to realize if they have a dream and work hard, they can realize their dreams. That's the greatness of America.

And I'm honored that Joe--Joe Dagher--would invite us into his facility. He had a dream. He realized his dream. He owns his own business. He can call it his own. And we're proud of you, Joe, and thanks for letting us come.

So here's my attitude about economic growth and vitality. It's based upon the principle that if people have more money in their pocket, they're likely to demand a good or a service. And when they demand a good or a service, somebody in the marketplace is going to produce a good or a service. And when somebody meets that demand with production, somebody is more likely to find work. And so when you couple that with the understanding that the role of Government is not to create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneur is willing to take risks, it yields this kind of plan.

I believe we ought to cut the rates on everybody who pays taxes, and I believe that we ought to reduce the income tax rates. But you know what's interesting is Congress has already agreed with that plan. In the year 2001, in the face of a recession, we convinced both Republicans and Democrats to support a rate reduction. It helped make our recession more shallow. People did get more money in their pockets, and they did spend that money.

What's interesting about the rate reduction plan that we've proposed is that it is scheduled to phase in over time. It takes 5 years to get the rates down. It takes years to get the child credit up to $1,000 per child. It takes years to get the marriage penalty reduced to where we want it to be reduced to.

Now, if the economy is still not as strong as it should be and if Congress has already recognized that tax rate reduction helps economic growth, my message to the United States Congress is: Speed up the growth. If it's good enough 5 years from now, it is good enough today.

This economy needs immediate help, so I will ask Congress, when they pass the bill, to make it retroactive to January 1st, which means workers will get money in their pockets immediately, will mean small businesses will get money to invest immediately. It will have an immediate effect on today's economy, something I think we need, something a lot of Americans understand we need, as we--coming out of recession and recovering from a terrorist attack and as we're finally getting--washing out of the system those who thought they could lie and cheat when it came to their balance sheets. We're recovering from three shocks to the system, and we need a little further wind at the back of this economy.